March 27, 2004

Criterium International: J-P Nazon takes sprint finish

The peloton let Guillaume Auger gain more than 19 minutes on the road, then slowly reeled him in. In the end, it was almost predictable: a stage win by Jean-Patrick Nazon, who won here in 2002, and whose brother Damien won here last year. Jean-Patrick Nazon also won the final stage of the 2003 Tour, on the Champs-Elysees.

Gerolsteiner took 2nd and 3rd on the day, with Marcus Zberg placing, and Peter Wrolich showing.
In a short stage race like this, every second can make a difference, so some of the big names were looking for sprint bonuses today. Jens Voigt of CSC, T-Mobile's Alexandre Vinokourov, and US Postal's Lance Armstrong all factored in intermediate sprints.

Joseba Beloki, finally back in competition after the fall in Stage 9 of last year's Tour, took another spill. Though he was able to continue, he was quickly off the back, and finished last on the day.